15 Best Things to Do in Oakhurst, California

By VI Staff on March 27, 2020

Oakhurst, also known as Fresno Flats, is a town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range just south of the entrance to Yosemite National Park. Located on the banks of the Fresno River, Oakhurst is home to several interesting attractions and activities for the whole family, including Yosemite National Park, the Children's Museum of the Sierra, and the Golden Chain Theatre.

1.Scenic Route Highway 49

The Scenic Route Highway 49, also known as the Gold Rush Trail and Gold Chain Highway, is a 300-mile long byway that runs from north to south, beginning in Vinton and ending in Oakhurst. The highway has a rich history dating back to the Gold Rush era and is peppered with historic mining towns that still have their 1850s charm. Surrounded by the panoramic vistas and silvery gurgling streams of the western Sierra Nevada foothills, the highway passes by several key attractions, including the Empire Mine State Historic Park in Grass Valley, once home to the richest hard-rock mine in California; the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma; the Argonaut and Kennedy Mines in Jackson; the Angels Camp Museum in Angels Camp; Chili Gulch in Calaveras County; and Chili Gulch in Calaveras County, among others.

2.Children's Museum of the Sierra

The Children’s Museum of the Sierra is a 4000-square foot museum packed with a variety of interactive educational activities for young people of all ages. Open year-round; the Museum gives children between the ages of two and twelve the opportunity to explore, imagine, create, make choices and learn through play. The museum’s hands-on exhibits range from scientific principles to artistic expression and include The Medical Area, The Good Cents Bank Exhibit, Emergency Services Exhibit, Artist’s Corner Exhibit, The Dig Exhibit, Communication Exhibit, the Pizza Restaurant Exhibit, and more. Auxillary exhibits include Florescent Wonders, a gravity wall, a map of the world, a music area with TV and karaoke. The Children’s Museum of the Sierra is open from Tuesday through Saturday.

49269 Golden Oak Dr, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-658-5656

3.Golden Chain Theatre

Located at the end of the Golden Chain Highway State Route 49 in the beautiful High Sierra foothills, the Golden Chain Theatre is a classic community theater that hosts a variety of performances throughout the year. Dedicated to producing and presenting plays and musicals that keep in line with the traditional Summer Melodrama and Traveling Shows, the Golden Chain Theatre presents a wide variety of quality live entertainment, from historical plays to murder mysteries. The theater houses a saloon with a full-service bar and serves a selection of light fare and snacks which are available before performances and during admission.

42130 CA-41, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-683-7112

4.Photo Safari Yosemite Day Tours

Photo Safari Yosemite Day Tours provide personalized private guided excursions into and around Yosemite National Park. Owned and run by professional United States Navy Photographer Pat Althizer, who has over 50 years of photography experience, Photo Safari Yosemite Day Tours provides customers with the opportunity of being in the right place at the right time for the perfect photo. In addition to visiting the park’s top attractions and sights, tours include personal photos of customers during the trip and are made available on Dropbox. Pat also offers his expert knowledge on photography, providing tips on exposure, composition, selective focus, subject selection and most importantly, the best lighting and time of day to capture the Yosemite experience.

Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-760-6124

5.Southgate Brewing Company

The Southgate Brewing Company is a cozy gastropub on Enterprise Drive that serves delicious cuisine and a range of locally produced craft beers in a stylish industrial-chic atmosphere. The brewery produces thoughtfully handcrafted ales and brews in small batches, using the highest quality ingredients to reflect the richness and bounty of the surrounding area. The beer is accompanied by a creative menu of great food with healthy and comfort options such as burgers, fries and prime steaks. The pub’s original dining room features a comfortable wood bar and several tables that can accommodate different sizes of parties and large windows boast beautiful views of Deadwood Mountain. The Southgate Brewing Company is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week and caters for private functions and events.

40233 Enterprise Dr, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-692-2739

6.Discover Yosemite

Discover Yosemite offers day tours of one of the world’s top national parks. Visited by more than 3.5 million people every year, Yosemite National Park is renowned for its spectacular landscapes and terrain, its giant, ancient sequoia trees, the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome, and the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall known as Tunnel View. Discover Yosemite tours visit these major attractions, including Bridalveil Fall, Half Dome, Royal Arches, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Three Brothers, Glacier Point, Leaning Tower, Cathedral Spires, and more. They also provide comfortable air-conditioned transport, delicious meals and snacks, and professional guides who share their knowledge and passion about this national treasure.

Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-642-4400

7.Idle Hour Winery

Idle Hour Winery is Oakhurst’s first winery and produces a range of white and red wines from local grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Viognier, Zinfandel, and Touriga Nacional. The wines are produced in small batch lots with sustainably grown grapes, using gravity flow and other traditional methods and can be tasted in the modern tasting room at the winery. Located next to the winery is the Queen’s Inn Wine Bar & Beer Garden, which offers comfortable accommodations, homemade cuisine and a charming wine and beer garden that is open seven days a week where visitors can enjoy more than ninety premium wines from the Idle Hour Winery and a selection of micro-brewed and imported beers from the local South Gate Brewing Company in a relaxed and casual ambiance.

41139 CA-41, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-760-9090

8.Timberline Art Gallery

Timberline Gallery is the oldest established Fine Arts Gallery in Eastern Madera County and showcases local artist’s works who focus on the natural beauty of the Sierra Nevada. Founded in 1985 by The Guild of Mountain Artists, the Timberline Gallery is located on what is known as Gallery Row on Highway 41 North and displays and sells member artists works, as well as co-sponsors student art shows and student projects with the local schools. The gallery’s works cover a wide variety of mediums from acrylics, pastels, oils, and watercolor to colored pencil, ceramics, glass mosaics, jewelry, wood carving, and sculpture.

40982 CA-41 #6, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-683-3345

9.Oakhurst Spirits

Oakhurst Spirits is a distillery tasting room, and art gallery located on Greenwood Way off Stagecoach Road. Owned by Ally and Michael Benbrook, the distillery produces a variety of liquors from limoncello to whiskey to limoncello in a 1,200-square-foot portion of the building that guests can explore on guided tours. Guests can sample the distillery’s liquors which are named after people and places specific to the Mountain Area while listening to music and socializing with guests in the comfortable tasting room. Oakhurst Spirits is also home to an art gallery that showcases some of Ally’s watercolor paintings, along with works from other Mountain Area artists.

40300 Greenwood Way in Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-641-5400

10.Little Church on the Hill

The Little Church on the Hill is a historic church in the Oakhill Cemetery along Highway 41 that has served as the spiritual and social center of the Oakhurst community for decades. First established as a mission in the mining township known as Fresno Flats in 1886, the church was then built and consecrated as Christ Church in 1894 on Chapel Hill to meet the needs of all denominations in the community, which it did for the next 60 years. Services were discontinued in the early 1950s, and the church fell into disrepair, however, was lovingly restored to its former glory by the community between 1991 and 1995 and is once again open to the public.

Oakhill Cemetery along Highway 41, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-683-6832

11.Lewis Creek Trail

The Lewis Creek National Scenic Trail is a 5.5-mile which runs along Lewis Creek to Corlieu Falls and Red Rock Falls. The moderately trafficked out-and-back trail is best used from March until November and offers several scenic attractions such as the Corlieu Falls, which are an 80-foot series of cascades in a narrow canyon, and the Red Rock Falls, a broad and robust 20-foot waterfall. Framed by ferns and mossy rocks as it winds along the creek, the trail is lined evergreens and dogwoods and offers a daydreamy-stroll-beside-a-stream type of hike in a cool, shady environment.

Lewis Creek, Oakhurst, CA 93644

12.The Elderberry House Restaurant

The Elderberry House Restaurants offers an unrivaled exceptional dining experience for discerning guests and food aficionados in an elegant European environment. Combining excellent food and fine wines with impeccable service, the award-winning restaurant has been serving a French-Californian inspired menu of globally-inspired cuisine for more than 30 years. The menu boasts sumptuous dishes prepared using the highest quality, locally sourced seasonal and organic ingredients from the nearby Central Valley farms and pairs them with a hand-curated selection of fine wines from the restaurant’s cellar. The restaurant can be hired for special occasions such as weddings and receptions and is open for dinner only, seven days a week.

48688 Victoria Ln, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-683-6800

13.Cool Bean Cafe

Nestled in the foothills at the southern entrance to the famous Yosemite, The Cool Bean Café is a friendly neighborhood coffee shop that serves only the highest quality ethical coffee and tea, specializing in Fair Trade, organic-certified, shade-grown coffee and direct trade, organic certified tea. The menu features a variety of traditional drinks such as americanos, cappuccinos, lattes, flat whites, and double espressos, as well as a variety of specialty lattes and cold brewed coffee. The café also serves a selection of freshly baked pastries and breakfast quiche daily and is open for breakfast and lunch, Monday through Saturday.

40120 CA-41, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-683-7575

14.El Cid

El Cid is a traditional Mexican cantina-style restaurant that serves authentic Mexican cuisine and handcrafted cocktails in a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. The award-winning restaurant boasts an extensive menu of more than 95 items, ranging from Tacos, Enchiladas, Nachos, and Chili Verde to Chili Colorado, sauteed seafood, prime steaks, and more. The restaurant also offers a breakfast menu every day of the week, and the full-service bar serves a range of handcrafted cocktail and famous tequila margaritas made with a secret family recipe. A charming outdoor patio and deck embrace gorgeous views of the surrounding High Sierra. El Cid is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week.

41939 CA-41, Oakhurst, CA 93644, Phone: 559-683-6668

15.Reimer's Candies, Gifts & Ice Cream

Reimer's Candies, Gifts & Ice Cream has been selling handmade candy and ice cream to the local community for more than 50 years. Located on Highway 198/Sierra Drive in Three Rivers, the neighborhood candy store exudes an Old-World charm and features a prized chocolate collection with over 80 varieties of the finest gourmet chocolate. There is also a large selection of candies including chews, sours, and licorice, and homemade peanut brittle, English toffee, and mixed nut brittle. Visitors can also find gourmet foods, nostalgic candies, and German Stollen at Christmas time, and over two dozen flavors of mouthwatering homemade ice cream and waffle cones. The River Shop sells a variety of special ornaments, souvenirs, and gifts to take home.

42375 Sierra Drive, Three Rivers, CA 93271, Phone: 559-561-4576 or Phone: 805-627-0243